Places to Revisit (West Coast) Part 2...

[ctva]

Following on from the previous thread on our sojourn out west, http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?503375-Places-to-Revisit, here are my thoughts on the subsequent stops...

Kyle of Lochalsh was a stop to get diesel, which we picked up on the pontoon from 20l cans. We were going to anchor but opted for the moorings by the bridge which at £10 a night were fine. Shame the pontoons there are uncomfortable due to wash from passing ships and the one in Kyleakin has been totally taken over by local resident boats. Pity.

Mallaig. I had avoided this place as it was expensive when it opened a few years ago but now it is probably the best pontoon place N of Ardnamurchan. Friendly harbourmaster, £24 inc free showers, lovely town and the steam train twice a day. What’s not to like. Well managed and clean so will definitely return.

Loch Scresort great anchorage, shame the community there seams to have become more (trying to think of a suitable pc term here...) scruffy and Steptoe ish.

Poll nam Partan again a super wee anchorage. Unlike Rum, Eigg appears to have de-hippyfied since our last visit about 8 years ago and came across as a vibrant community making a good go of it. Definitely on our revisit list.

Tobermory. Difficult one this. £17 for a mooring AND £2 per shower, rediculiously over priced. But they have you as there is nowhere really to anchor there now as Aros Bay now has moorings. They may be a new whizzy harbour thingy but despite paying the new HM on arrival we were rudely awoken at 9.00am to pay AGAIN. The poor lad was sent away and told to as his boss who had ‘forgotten to write in the book’. Still a great friendly chandlery and McGoogans food along with nice walks still have a draw. Would I go back, well it is Tobermory but at the fleecing price, only if we have to. Shame.

Lochaline, anchoring at the NW corner, lovely as always.

Black Isles ditto, just don’t tell anyone.

And of course, home for the boat, Crinan Canal. It’s the only time we sit in the basin and it never fails to be superb. Lots of boats transiting, not as many as last year due to the water shortage scare stories, but a steady stream. Drought measures will fully kick in in a few weeks if no rain falls... hey it’s Scotland, it will rain. Lovely staff and relaxing.

That was a good summer trip, not much wind but lots of new places, a few old favourites and great people met along the way.

The YBW burgee has now been lowered till the next weekend...

 

[BigJoe]

Black Isles ditto, just don’t tell anyone.

Which Black Isles ?

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Black Isles ditto, just don’t tell anyone.

Which Black Isles ?

Eilean Dubh. Shhh! Don't tell anyone though.

 

[BigJoe]

Eilean Dubh. Shhh! Don't tell anyone though.

O..................................K...............................

 

[Quandary]

Just back in Tob. after a run round Skye so some comments on here and there and (as usual from me) a bit of whinging, spoke to the OP on our way to Canna as he returned round Ardnamurchan.
Gurn no. 1; why do Sailing Directions give details of so many anchorages but never a clue about how to get ashore at any of them, we are accompanied by an elderly dog who was once a keen agile sailor, trying to met his needs in this, his last year, has been a real pain, Ardmaleish (Mull) is lovely, as is Duntulm (Skye) but trying to get ashore to meet his frequent needs is a real pain. Opportunity for someone to produce a guide on getting ashore from your favourite anchorage?
Carbost has two trots of nice new moorings, the inner trot is unusable having been laid on top of the old local buoys which are still there mixed up with them, the outer row are accessible except that the buoys are at least a metre in diameter with the shackle deep in a dished centre, getting a rope through on a benign day involved leaning over to a point where my weight was supported by the buoy while my wife held my feet and our boat has fairly low freeboard, apparently the boat next to us had launched their dinghy. However there are a couple of yacht berths on the outside of the extended pontoon, once the local hire boats stop for the evening. Was in the Old Inn there in daylight, plenty of character but a long while since I have been in somewhere quite so grubby. Enjoyed it though, despite the football.
Flowerdale pontoon in Gairloch was as welcoming as ever, every second night free and by far the cheapest diesel (95p) since Johnstons in Mallaig stopped filling containers for yachties, still our favourite stop, great beach, lots of dry walking, handy shop and someone who knows how to cook in the Flowerdale Old Inn. Len the H.M.is every bit as helpful as Jackson used to be.
Talking of Mallaig, it is going well, marina full to the gills but only on the West Coast would some one purpose build a fancy pizzeria and only open it for two hours at weekends, the decision to lock up the marina facilities building at 20-00 because they found some backpackers in sleeping bags one morning is not an unexpected response there either.
Everyone we met seems to have been to St. Kilda this year and the prolonged warm settled weather has made them all decide Scotland is a cruising paradise, going to be a shock when normal service resumes.

 

[aowen]

Johnstons in Mallaig still sells diesel to yachties in cans presently 66p a litre..........��

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I used the pontoon at Carbost, did the job. No water yet but it's planned. The pontoon is very low. The boat hire man was helpful & fully willing to move his day boats to make space.

I thought that only the big outer buoys are for visitors, the small inner ones being for local boats. Might be wrong though.

 

[Quandary]

It says in 'Welcome Ashore' that they have provided ten, there are notices on the pier advising of their intention to remove moorings before laying the new ones but they seem to have laid them on top of them and the displaced locals have been forced to use them? Perhaps there has been a dispute? We used the pier too and with a strong wind all night from across the loch I worried about the low freeboard.
I was put off by the notice in Johnston's window saying ' Commercial diesel only' but perhaps that is only intended for the exciseman?
Regarding anchoring in Tobermory; They cleared a designated area along the shore inside the moorings (off the waterfall) there is 5m. right in to the shore though your anchor will probably be in 10 -12m, when WHYW is on there are at least 20-30 boats anchored there. I agree with Chris that it is regrettable that there is little space now down toward Aros park but it is our own fault, yachties want these moorings, when we went in to Canna every boat there was on a mooring though there was plenty of anchoring space available much closer to the slipway. As usual, impressed by the amount of kelp a CQR can harvest, size of a haystack, our Spade only managed a little bundle.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

It says in 'Welcome Ashore' that they have provided ten, there are notices on the pier advising of their intention to remove moorings before laying the new ones but they seem to have laid them on top of them and the displaced locals have been forced to use them? Perhaps there has been a dispute. We used the pier too and with a strong wind from across the loch I worried about the low freeboard.

This is what I was told when I was there - 5 new yellow visitor moorings put in place by the Carbost mooring association north of the pontoon, & there were once 5 run by the pub just off their stony beach further up, but since the new ones have gone in the pub have pretty much given up on theirs & they are unmaintained & in disarray. In Welcome Anchorages it does show it as 5 & 5 in different locations. I don't think the inshore moorings by the pontoon are for visitors.

 

[Quandary]

Might have been worth using different colour buoys for the private ones?